


Am I Beautiful (As I Tear You to Pieces?)

by Lexus (Beautiful_Ruin)



Category: Dare Me (TV 2019), Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/F, Kat goes undercover in Ohio, Sexual Tension, Undercover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:20:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23271604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beautiful_Ruin/pseuds/Lexus
Summary: Kat goes undercover in Sutton Grove to investigate Coach French and her relationship to the girls.**Note: I've taken liberties with the age of consent in Ohio because it's 16 in reality, but for the purpose of this fic it's 18 or there would be no investigation and hence no story.**Title is fromSick Like Meby In This Moment
Relationships: Katriona "Kat" Azar Tamin/Colette French
Comments: 7
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

“You realize I’m probably gonna vomit as soon as I put on that uniform?” Kat asked her captain, raising an eyebrow. “All over the front of it, Liv. And why Ohio? We have no jurisdiction there.”

“Sutton Grove doesn’t have an SVU and they certainly don’t have any UCs,” Olivia tried to explain. “It’s a favor for a friend of mine, and you’re the only one that can pull this off. I’d go if I could pass for a high school cheerleader but we all know that’s not happening, so it’s you, Kat. Please? You can have your pick of assignments for the next month after you get back… And you didn’t hear me say this, but the coach is completely your type.”

Kat snorted her disbelief and ran her hands over her face. “I guess that should make it a little more authentic, huh?”

“Thank you, Kat,” Olivia said, her tone full of relief.

***

Kat had spent the next month training in the basics of cheerleading as well as poring over Sutton Grove’s competition and halftime tapes to memorize as many routines as she could. That would make it easier to act like she needed extra help and then pretend the help was what made her successful. She had a feeling this woman would appreciate the indirect stroke to her ego.

She also read up on the other cheerleaders, the coach’s husband, rival teams, the town’s history… basically anything she thought she might ever need to know.

Now she was in the dreaded uniform about to audition for the team. They had an available spot because the local police whisked one of the other girls off to college early to make room for her. All she had to do was beat a couple of other hopefuls. She’d trained hard as fuck so she wasn’t all that worried.

She stepped into the gym, waiting for the music to start, and when she saw Colette French in person for the first time, blood-red lips parted in scrutiny while she stood with her hands on her hips wearing those fuck-me boots, Kat almost stumbled. She’d seen videos and pictures but it wasn’t the same. She could _feel_ the raw sensuality from all the way across the gym. Suddenly she felt like a rookie all over again.

***

“Congratulations,” the coach said when tryouts came to a close, standing in front of Kat. “You’re it. You _almost_ impressed me. Have one of the other girls show you which shoes to buy and I’ll see you at practice after school. What was your name?”

Wow, so she was a condescending bitch. Good to know. “Katriona. You can call me Kat. And what’s wrong with my shoes?”

“The first rule of cheerleading, Katriona? Don’t argue with the coach,” Colette said blandly, turning and leaving the gym.

“If you think that was arguing…” Kat called after her, blinking as the heavy barred door clanged shut. Okay, so maybe she owed Olivia. This was going to be fun.

***

She decided to ask Addy about the shoes, since Addy was the nicest one and also the coach’s favorite. She stopped the dark-haired girl in the hall before the first bell. “Hey… Addy Hanlon, right?”

Addy closed her locker and looked at Kat. “Who are you?” Her eyes raked the uniform Kat was wearing.

“Kat. I just finished tryouts. Coach said to ask someone about getting the right shoes? I don’t know what’s wrong with mine…”

Addy’s eyes tracked downward to Kat’s shoes and she scrunched up her nose. “They’re purple.”

“Yeah but it’s not like we’re performing, right? It’s just practice… who cares about the color of my shoes?”

“Coach does,” Addy replied. “Obviously.”

“Aight,” Kat said with a little lift of her chin. “So where do I get Coach-approved shoes?”

“Anywhere,” Addy said, raising an eyebrow. “Just get plain white sneakers with good treads. I don’t know how you plan to do that before practice, though. It’s right after school.”

“I’ll get some at lunch.”

“You’re not allowed to leave campus for lunch unless you’re on the honor roll…”

“Who says I’m not?”

“It’s your first day.”

“So maybe I transferred here with honors.”

Addy smirked. “Sure.”

Kat smirked back. “Or maybe I just don’t give a fuck if I’m allowed to leave or not.” Good way to test Addy’s opinion of following rules.

“Don’t get caught,” Addy warned. “Coach’ll have you doing pushups ‘til your arms fall off. I gotta go.”

Hmm. So there were consequences from the coach for breaking school rules. Interesting. And Addy didn’t seem like a rule breaker – she didn’t ask Kat to bring her with.

***

Kat got the shoes, then made sure to get caught sneaking back on to campus afterward. She received detention that afternoon and was consequently a half-hour late to practice. Everyone stopped and stared when she walked in.

“This has to be a record,” the coach’s voice rang out through the gym. “Your first practice and you’re half an hour late.”

“You told me to get new shoes,” Kat shrugged, dropping her backpack next to everyone else’s and heading for the closest empty space in the lined formation.

“You’re lucky we need someone and that you’re good,” Colette said loudly, “or I’d get rid of you right now. You owe me fifty pushups. Up here at the front.”

Kat was no stranger to pushups, she was a boxer and a cop. Fifty was child’s play, though no one needed to know that. She sauntered to the front of the room and dropped down, counting aloud. When she reached thirty she paused for a minute, her hips slightly sagging, and before she knew it Coach’s hands were on her, jerking her hips back into place.

“I didn’t say stop.”

Her skin burned where the coach’s fingers dug in, even after the blonde let go. She didn’t let it distract her and just finished the pushups, staying in position after she reached number fifty. “Anything else, Your Highness?” she asked, looking over her shoulder. She saw the split-second shock cross that pretty face before it hardened again, Coach’s lips pursing.

“Fifty more, since you asked so nicely.”

Everyone was staring at her. She pretended to get tired halfway through the next set, wanting to see what Colette would do, and she dropped onto her stomach, breathing hard.

“Up,” Colette barked.

“I can’t,” Kat panted.

“Then don’t talk to me like a little bitch. Up,” the coach repeated.

Cussing… how inappropriate. “Fuck,” she returned the favor, pushing up onto her hands again and making it seem like she struggled through the last half, collapsing to the floor when she reached a hundred. Her muscles _were_ unhappy, but not to the point she was playing them up to be.

Colette squatted down beside her, putting her face close. “Anything else to say, Katriona?” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Kat breathed. “I told you to call me Kat.”

“Hm.” Colette stared at her, peeling layers back one by one, then abruptly stood. “Now apologize to your squad for interrupting practice.”

If she had asked for a personal apology Kat would have refused, but apologizing to the rest of the girls, that she could do. She got up slowly and faced the squad, wiping sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand. “Sorry for interrupting practice,” she said, sincerely enough. She noticed Beth Cassidy’s eyes on her as she retreated to the back left corner of the formation, wondering if the girl was any distant relation to Brian.

***

In the locker room after practice, she decided to do a little digging. “Why are the hottest ones always the bitchiest?” she asked, changing out of her cheerleading top and slipping on a tank. Addy and Beth were the closest ones in earshot but some of the other girls probably heard as well.

Beth gave a shrill laugh and slammed her locker shut. “Careful, Kat… that bitchy one’s got claws.”

“Come on, stop,” Addy said with a sigh. “She doesn’t have claws, and she’s only a bitch when she has to be.”

The word ‘grooming’ flashed through Kat’s mind. “You like her, Hanlon?”

Addy refused to answer but Beth had plenty to say.

“Our dear Addy is quite enamored with the evil queen. I’ve tried to warn her but she just won’t listen.” She shrugged and blew Addy a kiss before breezing out the doors.

Addy just frowned and finished changing, shutting her locker and leaving in silence.

Kat was definitely concerned about the dynamics here.

***

The next day was Friday. Kat wasn’t familiar enough yet with all of the cheers to join the squad on the football field so she was benched. That was fine with her. One more week she didn’t have to be out there pretending to love cheerleading was one more week she could relax. It also had the unintended benefit of putting her in Colette’s proximity during most of the game. When she wasn’t on the field supporting the girls, Coach was texting most of the time.

Kat pounced on a rare moment of neutrality to start a conversation. “I’m sorry about yesterday, Coach,” she said quietly, trying to sound embarrassed. That wasn’t an emotion that came easy for her.

Colette looked sideways at her with a raised brow. “Oh?” she asked, and Kat could see her chewing the inside of her cheek. “Which part? Being late or being insubordinate?”

“Both,” Kat said after feigning the appropriate amount of thought. “I had a bad day and things just blew up. I’m really grateful to be here, but I’m sure it doesn’t seem like it.”

Colette continued to eye her, almost suspiciously, but then she gave a shrug and pulled out her phone again. “We all have those days.”

Kat took that to mean an acceptance of her apology in the same breath as a dismissal, so she flashed a smile and turned her attention back to the field.

After the game, Beth Cassidy approached her on the way to the locker room. “You must’ve sweet talked Coach…”

“Why’s that?” Kat asked casually as they walked.

“She just came on the field and told us party tonight. To celebrate the new girl. That’d be you.”

“Party? What kind of party?”

Beth looked wicked in the lights from the field. “The good kind.”

“Booze?” Kat asked, sounding hopeful.

“What rock did you crawl out from under? Would it be the good kind of party without booze?”

Kat grinned. “Can I bring weed?”

Beth narrowed her eyes, staring at Kat for several strides before breaking out into a matching grin. “I like you already.”

***

It turned out the party was in two adjoining motel rooms and Coach provided the booze. That was two strikes as far as Kat was concerned, but Colette earned back a point when she took keys from everyone that had a car. Well, maybe that was only worth half a point since she was the one letting them drink in the first place.

Kat grabbed a beer and swayed a little to the music, keeping a subtle eye on everyone else.

Beth was the first to get visibly drunk and about an hour into the party she stumbled over to Kat. “Did you bring weed?” she slurred.

“Who said I was sharing?” Kat teased. “This is my prescription. I need it.” If she hadn’t been at vice before SVU she might have been uncomfortable smoking weed with teenagers, but she was used to it and didn’t bat an eye as she pulled a joint from her jeans pocket.

“Yessss,” Beth exclaimed, grabbing Kat by the wrist and dragging her toward the bathroom.

“Why are we going in the bathroom? We can’t smoke right here?” Kat complained.

“You wanna share with everybody?”

“Point taken. You got a light?”

“Always.”

Kat perched on the counter and Beth sat on the closed toilet, producing a lighter from somewhere she couldn’t see. “Light ‘er up,” she said, popping the joint between her lips, sucking shallowly a few times in quick succession once Beth fired up the lighter. She got it lit and took a slow drag, holding it in as she offered Beth a hit.

Kat could hold her liquor, and her weed, but she knew when to stop. “Pick someone to share the rest with, it’s all yours,” she said with a tipsy laugh as she pulled open the bathroom door and slipped back into the crowd of people, weaving her way toward Colette, who she saw heading outside.

At the last second she veered into the adjoining room and used that room to exit instead, wanting it to seem unplanned that she would end up alone with Colette. She pretended not to notice Coach as she leaned on the railing, staring out over the courtyard. When she heard the flick of a lighter she jumped, turning her head. “Don’t sneak up on bitches, damn…”

“I believe I was out here first,” Colette informed her. The haughty expression that always lurked behind the woman’s eyes made Kat want to slap her… and then kiss her. “What are you doing out here when the party’s in there?” She inclined her head toward the rooms behind them.

“You know how I said it was a bad day?” Kat asked, deliberately looking away from Colette, fixing her eyes on one of the stars above, forcing tears to come to her eyes, which was not an easy task. “My girlfriend back in Michigan called me and said she couldn’t deal with a long-distance relationship. She, uh, she broke it off.” Making herself cry wasn’t easy but lying was.

“Shit. I’m sorry,” Colette said, closing the distance between them and holding out her pack of cigarettes.

Kat shook her head and wiped at a tear and Colette put the smokes in her pocket.

“I wouldn’t have been so hard on you if I knew that…”

Kat turned to look at the coach and offered a little chuckle as she sniffed back more tears. “Yeah you would’ve…”

Coach’s lips twitched into a smirk and she looked away to take a drag of her cigarette. “Maybe.”

“You don’t strike me as the ‘take it easy’ type,” Kat continued.

“Not if I want a winning squad.” She turned to face Kat again and leaned on the railing. “The best advice I can give you is to say fuck her. Focus on yourself. Work hard. Take what you want and leave everything else behind. We _do_ have a winning squad. You’re a part of that now. Nothing else matters. Understand?”

Holy fuck, that was bad advice. Kat sniffed again and nodded, though. “I think so.”

Colette moved behind her and she felt fingers dragging through her hair, nails sliding across her scalp, and the suddenness of it almost made her knees buckle.

“I know so,” Colette whispered in her ear.

Kat stood still and tried not to enjoy the gently possessive touch.

Coach stroked her hair for several more minutes, then flicked her cigarette ash over the railing and took another drag as she looked away. “Go back inside, it’s freezing out here.”

Kat certainly wasn’t freezing despite the twenty-something-degree weather. Her scalp was on fire. “Sure, Coach.” She shoved her hands in her pockets and turned to head for the door when Colette caught her arm.

“Kat?”

Hopefully her shiver could be attributed to the temperature around them. She slowly turned to look at Colette. The way the coach was staring at her made her feel naked; exposed. Like Colette could see right through her and into all the dark little parts of herself that she never wanted anyone to see. Her breath caught and that sensation of being a rookie flared up again. “Yeah?” She hoped her voice sounded steadier to Colette than it did to her.

Coach stared for a few more interminable seconds and then offered a quirky grin that made Kat want to fall at her feet. “Whoever this girl is, she’s an idiot.”

By the time Kat’s cunt stopped pulsing enough to foster coherency the touch was gone and so was Colette, cigarette smoldering in the snow a few inches from Kat’s shoes. Oh. Lord.

***

Around two am things were starting to wind down and she sent Liv a text.

_Hey Mom, I’m spending the night with the squad, is that cool?_

Her phone rang. She’d changed Liv’s contact information to say ‘Mom’ just in case anyone happened to see her screen or look at her texts. “Mom, you didn’t have to call, people are sleeping!” she complained as she answered.

Liv held in a chuckle in case anyone could hear her. “I just want to make sure you’re safe.”

“That’s so embarrassing. I’m safe, it’s fine, there’s like twenty girls here and the coach is chaperoning.”

“Is there alcohol there?” Liv asked quietly.

“Uhhhh…”

“Check. How about drugs?”

“I dunno.”

“You brought weed, didn’t you?”

“Mom!”

Suddenly the phone was plucked out of her hand and she gaped at Beth.

“Is this Kat’s mom?”

“Yes, who is this?”

“This is Beth.”

“Okay… what can I do for you, Beth?”

“Nothing,” Beth said in a sing-song voice and gave Kat the phone back. “Just checking it wasn’t a secret _boyfriend_ ,” she whispered eerily, wiggling her fingers in Kat’s face and walking away.

Kat stared after her until Liv cleared her throat. “So can I stay?” she asked, putting a slight whine into her voice.

Liv sighed. “All right, but no drinking, understand?”

“Mom, _stop_. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Love you, Kit Kat…”

“Love you too,” Kat said, rolling her eyes as she hung up the phone. She caught Colette watching her from the adjoining room doorway. “She’s a little overprotective,” she said when the coach approached. “Especially since we just moved here.”

“That can be a good thing, right?” Colette asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. “Overprotective means she cares.”

“Yeah, I guess.”

Addy came stumbling in from the other room at that moment and crawled onto the bed, flopping down face first in the middle of it with a groan.

“Addy, get your shoes off,” Colette scolded, reaching over to yank one sneaker off while Addy toed off the other one.

Kat watched the coach take both sneakers and put them up in the closet, then return to the bed and sling an arm under Addy’s stomach, dragging her to the edge of it.

“Up,” she said. “I need to get the blankets loose.”

Addy groaned again and Kat stepped in, helping hold her up while Colette stripped the blankets down, then the top sheet. Once that was accomplished Addy crawled under the sheet and returned to her face-down position, half passed out already.

“Can’t hold her liquor,” Kat observed quietly.

“Most teenage girls can’t,” Colette replied, holding Kat’s eyes a moment too long before she took off those fuck-me boots and nudged them under the bed with her feet.

Kat’s eyes were drawn to the white socks with folded cuffs and for some reason she couldn’t look away. Like Colette became ten years younger just because of her socks and the way she used the balls of her feet to push her boots under the bed.

She was jolted out of her stupor when Colette climbed into bed and held up the sheet. “Come on. It’s late.”

Oh Jesus. How was she supposed to survive the night sleeping next to _that_? She kicked off her shoes and climbed under the sheet, pretending it was nothing.

Colette turned on her side away from Kat and just as she was thanking God for that, Coach reached an arm back and grabbed her hand, tugging it around her and hugging it to her stomach before letting go to put her own arm around Addy. She could see the coach tug Addy close; feel Addy’s clothing brush the back of her hand where it rested on an impossibly flat stomach.

Her hand tensed, fingers digging in to Colette’s skin for a moment before she forced herself to relax. If the coach noticed, she didn’t let it show. She just laid still and quiet.

Kat could barely breathe. This was some kind of sweet torture, being this close, smelling Colette’s shampoo. If she moved forward a few inches she’d be pressed along the coach’s back, but she didn’t. Her clit was throbbing, her pulse rushing in her ears, and she couldn’t resist letting her fingers play a little across Colette’s stomach.

Colette shifted slightly but remained otherwise neutral.

Kat closed her eyes and tried to focus on anything other than the woman beneath her fingertips. It was too soon to push any further despite how bad she wanted to slip her hand under that beater tank and touch bare skin. Her fingers ached with the urge and she flexed them against the rough material to quell it. If she went for anything overtly sexual on day two she’d blow her cover and her chance at finding out exactly how close Coach was to her girls.


	2. Chapter 2

_Colette_

_Colette woke up the next morning with a dry mouth and a slight headache, sandwiched between Addy and the new girl, Katriona. Kat. That one was a handful. Smart and pretty, but quick tempered with plenty of sass. She had talent, and Colette would see to it she fulfilled her potential._

_As she became more aware of her surroundings she realized that sometime during the night Kat’s hand had crawled upward and was splayed across her ribs, fingertips reaching the underside of one breast. She blinked and glanced down to confirm her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her, and when she saw the evidence she carefully removed the sleeping girl’s hand, her pulse racing. Her skin tingled sharply in the wake of the innocent touch and she slid out from under the covers, climbing off of the bed and replacing the sheet over both girls._

_A glance at the clock on the wall told her it was too damn early to be awake but she wasn’t about to get back in that bed, not now. She made her way to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face, then ducked her head to drink from the faucet. She’d only had one beer but the taste in her mouth at the moment was revolting and she wished she’d brought a toothbrush. Hindsight, really. How many times had she been in this situation and wished for a toothbrush? She should start keeping one in her car._

_She pulled out her phone and texted Matt._

**_Hey baby, you awake?_ **

_He probably wasn’t. It was a Saturday._

***

Kat groaned when she realized she was awake, shoving her face into her pillow. “Where am I?” she complained.

“In hell, bitch,” came Beth’s cheery voice from across the room.

“This pillow smells like—” She stopped when she realized the pillow smelled like Colette and quickly came up with another scent. “—smoke.”

“Since when does smoke bother you, Goddess of Ganja?”

Kat turned her head to squint at Beth. “Did you just…?”

Beth smiled gleefully. “I did.”

“Remind me not to share with you again,” Kat grumped. “And it smells like cigarette smoke, not weed.”

“I see. Smell like anything else, perhaps?” The brunette started walking over with a swagger to her step, each footfall designed to impart her treacherous intent. “Maybe like a certain… hot… blonde you had your face pressed into all night?”

Kat tried to think of something embarrassing to make herself blush and she sat up, throwing the pillow at Beth. “Shut up.” She didn’t manage the blush but she at least made herself look sheepish, turning away from the other girl.

“Aww, what’s the matter?” Beth taunted, reaching the bed and flicking Kat’s ponytail with her index finger. “Come on, I’m just fucking around.”

Kat snorted and jammed her elbow lightly into Beth’s side. “Shut up,” she said again. “Fuck, I’m starving.”

“You didn’t get enough to eat in bed?”

“Oh my God,” Kat laughed, covering her face with her hands. “You’re relentless.”

“Why thank you.”

They were alone in the room except for the still-sleeping Addy so Kat took the opportunity to pry a little. “I think the coach is more into Addy anyway.”

Beth grunted and slapped her upside the back of the head. “Well aren’t you observant?”

“Ow,” Kat complained, rubbing the offended spot. “Did I hit a nerve?”

“If I had any to hit.”

“Are you sweet on Addy?”

Beth’s eyes were simultaneously daggers and diamonds as she stared at Kat, seeming not to even breathe for a suspended minute. Kat had the acute sense she was being sized up; that Beth was deciding whether to eat her for breakfast or divulge a little truth. Finally that gaze fizzled out and the cheerleader’s lips split in a cheeky grin. “Maybe.”

Kat knew she had to tread carefully. “But she’s sweet on Coach?”

Beth’s eyes darkened again, swirling with damage. “More like obsessed with, consumed by, will do anything for.”

Kat was poised to answer when the door opened and Colette walked in from outside, a fresh wave of cigarette smoke wafting in after her. “Okay ladies… everyone else is already gone.”

“Good for them.” That was Beth.

Colette rolled her eyes and walked to the occupied bed, shaking Addy’s shoulder. “Wake up, Addy… time to go.”

Beth growled and knocked Colette’s hand away, taking over the task of rousing her friend. “ADDY!” she screamed in the sleeping girl’s face.

Addy shrieked awake, eyes darting frantically from side to side, and when reality dawned she shoved Beth, hard. “Fucking horrible friend.”

Beth let out a delighted cackle and shoved Addy back. “Get up. Time to go home. And Jesus, brush your teeth.”

“Oh yeah I’ll get right on that,” Addy snarked sarcastically, throwing the blankets off of herself and getting out of bed.

Kat watched, holding in her amusement as Addy walked around searching for something.

“Where the fuck are my shoes?” the teenager asked grumpily.

“In the closet,” Kat supplied helpfully, getting up and retrieving the sneakers, holding them out to Addy.

“Thanks,” Addy mumbled, putting them on the wrong feet, then groaning and swiping a hand over her eyes, fixing the problem before Beth summarily dragged her out the door.

“Toodles,” Beth said, waving over her shoulder at Colette and Kat, slamming the door behind them.

There was awkward silence for a moment and then Kat gave the coach an amused sort of glance. “She seems to like you a lot.”

Colette barked out a laugh and ran her hand through her hair. “You could say that.”

“You couldn’t have started off worse than we did,” she offered, gesturing between the two of them.

“Oh, but we could. She was the captain when I started here. I got rid of the position.”

Kat cringed. “Ouch.” _But that has nothing to do with it. She’s jealous._ “No recovering from that, I guess?”

“No.” Colette shook her head, a disgusted expression flitting across her features before it was gone. “I’ll take you home. I should meet your mom.”

Panic flared to life at the one thing she hadn’t planned for. They had her apartment set up to look like a single mother and teenage daughter lived in it, but they hadn’t anticipated having to meet and greet. She forced casualness as she pulled out her phone, shooting a text to Liv.

_Hey Mom. Coach wants to meet you. Are you home?_

Her phone buzzed immediately.

_I’ll be home in a couple hours. I’d love to meet her._

Kat breathed a sigh of relief. She knew it was only an hour and fifteen minutes from La Guardia, but she had had no idea whether Liv would be able to fly out last minute. “She said she’d love to meet you and she’ll be home in a couple hours. I could use a shower and some breakfast… are you busy? Unless you want to meet her another time…”

“I could use a shower myself. I’ll use the one in the other room. It’s what, 11:30? We have a half hour until mandatory checkout.”

“Okay,” Kat said, nodding her agreement with a little smile. “Sounds good.”

***

Kat didn’t like putting the same clothes back on after a shower, but she’d change when she got home.

Breakfast was quiet, both of them lost in thought, and by the time Coach pulled up in front of her building she’d gotten a text that Liv was home.

“Is she here?” Colette asked, pulling Kat’s attention from the cherry blossoms outside the window.

“Yeah,” she replied, getting out of the car and hefting her backpack over her shoulder. “It’s on the third floor and there’s no elevators.” She glanced at the coach’s boots.

“I’ll be fine,” Colette said with a smirk, shaking her head as she followed Kat up the walk and into the building.

Olivia was in the kitchen making sandwiches when Kat stepped into the apartment. It was an open floor plan so you could see the kitchen from the entrance. “Hi Mom,” she waved, moving aside so Colette could follow her in.

Olivia wiped her hands on a towel and made her way to the living room, pulling Kat into a hug. “Hi baby,” she said, then offered her hand to Colette. “Olivia.”

Colette shook her hand, flashing a winning smile. “Colette. Or Coach.”

Kat could tell by the look on Liv’s face that she smelled smoke… and probably booze. She wasn’t wrong.

“Were you smoking?” Liv asked, eyes slightly widening as she looked down at Kat. “And drinking?” She turned her heated gaze on Colette. “You were the chaperone. You let them drink?”

“Mom!” Kat shouted indignantly, dropping her backpack with a thud. “I wasn’t!”

“Of course not, Mrs…?” Colette lied.

“Benson,” Olivia supplied her last name. “And it’s Ms.” She grabbed Kat by the elbow and landed a solid smack on her backside. “I’ll deal with you later. Go start your homework.”

Kat didn’t have to try to conjure up embarrassment this time. Her face turned bright red, eyes wide as she shrieked and scooped up her backpack, escaping to her room and slamming the door. Holy Jesus fuck, what did Liv think she was doing?! She was going to _kill_ her captain as soon as Colette was gone. She put her ear to the door and could vaguely hear Colette assuring Liv that her daughter hadn’t been drinking or smoking, that someone must have spilled beer on Kat’s clothes and they had breakfast in the corner restaurant that was allowed to let patrons smoke because it was half considered a bar.

She strained to hear Liv pretending to buy that excuse and a few minutes later the door shut behind the coach. She looked out the window and waited until she actually saw Colette outside the building before she pushed out of her room and found Olivia finishing up in the kitchen. “What the fuck was that, _Captain_?”

Olivia snickered, putting the top slice of bread on both sandwiches and shooting Kat a look over her shoulder. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist. Look at what you’re wearing… can you blame me?”

Kat gave her an unimpressed stare. “Yes, I can blame you. That was embarrassing.”

Olivia bit her lip and slowly turned around, leaning back on the counter. “Then you shouldn’t have been drinking.”

“Oh my G—are you s—Liv!” Kat didn’t know how to respond.

“In all seriousness, I did that so you and Ms. French would have something else to bond over.”

Kat’s indignation started to fade and the incredulous look on her face slowly melted away. “Oh. Well… right.”

“If her MO is to get close to these girls by being their mentor; filling a void, then having a mother that embarrasses you or punishes you inappropriately for your age will only make her that much more drawn to you.”

“A heads up would’ve been cool.”

“It wasn’t pre-planned.”

“You should’ve smacked her instead. That hurt like hell, Liv.”

“I can’t smack the suspect,” Olivia laughed. “Your UC cred just went up ten points for not blowing your cover there.”

“Appealing to my sense of duty to get yourself out of hot water… how predictable.” But she wasn’t really angry.

“So what’s your take on her?” Liv changed the subject.

“It’s iffy,” Kat said, sinking down to sit at the center island. “Definitely uncool with the alcohol and the motel party, but she did take everyone’s keys. Then she snuggled up to Addy Hanlon in bed and pulled my hand over so I was holding her.”

Olivia’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”

“Nothing in any inappropriate places or underneath any clothes, but yeah.”

“Jesus. It was what, your second day? She moves fast.”

“There’s definite grooming going on and she’s a walking wet dream, but I don’t know if she’s taking it any further than that. Addy is enthralled with her and Beth is jealous as fuck. I’ll keep digging.”

“Okay,” Liv said. “Good work so far.”

Kat gave her a good-natured glare. “Tell that to my ass.”


	3. Chapter 3

About twenty minutes later Kat got a text from Colette.

_I tried to get you out of trouble_

She found herself smiling in spite of herself as she sent a reply.

_Thanks. It worked._

A few minutes later her phone buzzed again.

_Are you ok?_

Her cheeks flushed all over again and she narrowed her eyes at Liv across the room.

_I’m good. No big deal._

She watched Olivia take a sip of wine while flipping through a magazine, glasses perched on her nose. 

“Liv, come here for a second.” She stood up as Olivia approached and used the element of surprise to spin her captain around, then smacked her ass, hard. “You shouldn’t be drinking.”

Olivia yelped, one hand going behind her to rub her backside. “Fuck!”

“Yeah. Now you know how I felt. Think twice next time, hmm?”

Kat’s phone buzzed, taking her attention from her revenge.

_You sure? I’m here if you need anything_

She sighed and sat back down on the couch as she typed a reply.

_Thx but I’m good. See you Monday._

Olivia glared as she retook her seat and resumed flipping through her magazine. “Is that her?”

“Yep. She’s asking if I’m okay.”

“You should tell her you want to talk.”

“Nah. Too much too soon. Plus, the more she has to work for it the more invested she’ll be. And I already set myself up as a little spitfire so that would be out of character.”

Liv looked like she wanted to argue but finally nodded her assent.

***

Kat was five minutes late to practice on Monday afternoon just to see if Coach would take it easy on her. Everyone was busy warming up when she jogged into the gym and tossed her backpack aside, eyes scanning the room for Colette. She didn’t have to scan long because a displeased voice rang out and she followed it to the coach’s location.

“Are you kidding me right now? Late to two out of three practices?”

 _Eeeehhh… think fast, Kat_. “I’m sorry, Coach, my mom called,” she said breathlessly, walking over to stand in front of the irritated woman.

Colette’s face softened for the briefest of moments before it was all hard edges again. “No excuses. Give me fifty.”

Kat swiped a hand across her face, pretending to hide a teary reaction, and turned away from Colette. “Yes, Coach,” she said dejectedly, dropping down and performing the required penance. When she reached fifty she laid on the floor to catch her breath.

Suddenly the coach was squatting in front of her and she felt fingertips beneath her chin, lifting her face. Catching her breath was useless when she saw the concern in Colette’s complicated gaze. “Get to practice on time. If your mom calls, you can answer.” She stroked her thumb across Kat’s cheek and released her, standing to walk away.

Kat closed her eyes and let her forehead drop carefully to the cool floor. Predator, or caring coach with boundary issues? She found herself really hoping it was the latter. Well, she always hoped that a crime wasn’t being committed, but in this case the hope was on a far more personal level than the norm.

“The fuck did she whisper to you?” Beth asked when Kat finally joined the formation.

“Tell you later,” Kat replied, not wanting to draw any more attention at the moment.

Beth cornered her in the locker room after practice with a sinister smile. “What gives?”

“I changed my mind about telling you. It’s embarrassing.”

“Well now you _have_ to tell me or I’ll die.”

“Ugh.” Kat rolled her eyes and started changing into regular clothes. “Fine, but don’t spread it around. I’ll know where it came from and then I’ll never tell you anything embarrassing _ever again_.”

“Scout’s honor,” Beth replied sweetly, holding up two fingers in the traditional Boy Scout signal.

“You wish you were a Boy Scout,” Kat grumbled.

“Hurry up, I just aged ten years, Tamin.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Kat laughed. “Coach gave me a ride home from the party so she could meet my mom, and my mom smelled smoke in my hair and booze on my clothes or my skin or however the fuck she knew.”

“And she blamed Coach? Perfection. Not really embarrassing, though.” Beth tilted her head to the side.

“That’s not the embarrassing part,” Kat confessed, watching Beth’s expression go from slightly confused to greedy and predatory. “My mom legit spanked my ass right in front of her and sent me off to do homework.”

Beth’s jaw dropped. “Holy fuckness. She sounded so normal on the phone! This is epic. When do I meet her?”

Kat pictured Olivia trying to deal with Beth in any situation and the image took hold, refusing to shake loose. That would be even better payback than the return smack she’d given her captain. “How did I know you would bask in the glory of my humiliation?” she groaned. “You can come over for dinner if you want to meet her.”

“Is she hot?”

“Gross, she’s my mom.” _Yes, yes she **is** hot_. She took out her phone and texted Liv.

_Can my friend Beth come over for dinner?_

_Sure, honey. I’ll order pizza. What does she like?_

She looked at Beth. “What kind of pizza do you like?”

“Ooh, Ms. Tamin with the pizza,” Beth said approvingly.

“Benson, actually. I have my dad’s last name.”

“Ms. Benson. I like. And I’m in the mood for cheese.”

***

By the time they got home the pizza was already on the table but Liv wasn’t in sight. “Mom, we’re here!” Kat announced unnecessarily since they weren’t exactly quiet about getting in the door.

Beth dropped her backpack by the door and looked around, nodding when she’d completed her assessment of the living room. “Nice digs.”

“Thanks.”

When Liv came out of the master bedroom and into the living room Beth grabbed Kat’s elbow and dug her fingers in to a painful degree. “Jesus fucking Christ,” she whispered out the side of her mouth.

Kat gave her a despairingly pathetic look that said ‘ew, don’t’, then turned to Liv. “Mom, this is Beth, from the squad.”

“Nice to meet you Beth, I’m Olivia. Or Ms. Benson, whichever you prefer.” She held her hand out in greeting.

“Oh no, we’re doing hugs,” Beth declined the offer of a handshake and moved in, letting go of Kat only to wrap her arms around Liv and squeeze.

Kat met Olivia’s alarmed expression with a purely gleeful one behind Beth’s back and flipped her captain the bird.

Olivia’s eyes narrowed and she managed to get out of the hug with minimal casualties. “Are you girls hungry?” she asked, already heading for the dining room before she finished her sentence. She planted herself firmly at the head of the table, putting distance between herself and Beth.

“Starved,” Beth said exaggeratedly, wagging her eyebrows at Olivia as she took the seat to her left.

Kat knew this was going to be incredible and so far she wasn’t disappointed. She slid into the chair across from Beth, on Liv’s right.

Beth wasted no time grabbing a slice of pizza and dropping it unceremoniously on her plate. “So. I was drinking and smoking at the party on Friday night, Ms. Benson. Do I get a spanking too?”

Olivia spit her drink all over the table and Kat pretended to fall out of her chair so neither of them could see her burst into silent laughter. She heard Liv get up from her chair and disappear into the kitchen, presumably to get a towel.

Wiping tears from her eyes, Kat climbed back up into her chair and feigned indignance. “Stop hitting on my mom, it’s disgusting!” she hissed.

“Your mom is a Grade-A piece of ass!” Beth hissed back.

Kat made a gagging sound as she took a slice of pizza and started eating. A few seconds later Liv came back and did her best to wipe up the mess, then went back into the kitchen. After another few seconds she returned and took her seat, clearly intending to pretend the question had never been asked.

Kat smirked to herself. Captain Benson didn’t know Beth.

“Well?” Beth asked after swallowing a bite of pizza.

The look on Olivia’s face was priceless. “What?”

“Do. I. Get. A. Spanking. Too?” Beth asked as if Liv were hard of hearing.

“Young lady—” Olivia started to say but Beth held up a hand and interrupted.

“Save the lecture. Just give me a few good pops and I promise I’ll learn my lesson.”

Kat watched in abject fascination as Beth rose from her chair and draped herself over the table beside Liv. She held her breath, daring the captain to get out of this unscathed.

Liv’s eyes were comically wide and Kat had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

“I have no intention of laying a hand on you,” Olivia said, both awed and irritated. “Is there a reason you’re being so inappropriate when you’ve been invited over for dinner? Do you not like pizza? Are you unhappy with the flatware? Are you not really friends with my daughter and you’re trying to prove a point?”

Kat squirmed in her seat, enjoying this all too much. Liv was actually doing better than she’d thought against Beth.

“Inappropriate?” Beth asked, slowly turning her head to look at Olivia over her right shoulder. “You mean like… spanking your teenage daughter in front of her cheerleading coach? Is… that what you mean by inappropriate?”

“The way I discipline my daughter is my business,” Olivia said carefully. “Not yours.”

Kat wished she had popcorn, but pizza would have to do. She munched happily, watching the scene unfold. Both players were skilled in this art.

“Sixteen is a little old for spanking to make a difference in behavior,” Beth continued, undaunted. “So you must get something else out of it, huh Ms. Benson?”

Olivia’s eyes narrowed dangerously and there was a waver in her voice when she spoke. “Get out of my house.”

“Apartment,” Beth said, standing and picking up her piece of pizza but making no move toward the door. “You seem a bit touchy about the subject… did I hit a little too close to the vest?” She took another bite and dropped the half-eaten slice back to her plate as she chewed.

Olivia clenched her jaw. “Out,” she said, and Kat could hear the barely-controlled anger simmering beneath the surface.

Beth slammed her hands down on the table in front of Liv, making both her and Kat jump. She leaned in close and her mouth quirked into a smirk. “Make me.”

Kat wondered if she should jump in; Olivia seemed about to unravel. If things didn’t diffuse in the next few seconds, she would intervene.

But Olivia collected herself and lowered her voice. “I have no authority over you and no legal way to remove you from my _apartment_ , but if you don’t go, and I mean right _now_ , I am going to put Katriona over my lap and spank her until she’ll never speak to you again. Is that what you want?”

Kat saw the first flicker of doubt cross Beth’s features and she prayed to God Liv was bluffing, her cheeks bright red.

Beth growled in Olivia’s face but relented, stalking across the dining room and into the living room, grabbing her backpack and jerking the door open. “Fucking cunt,” she directed Liv’s way as she left, slamming the door behind her.

Kat and Olivia both sat there in silence for a good five minutes before anyone breathed easy. “That was fun until it wasn’t,” Kat finally broke the silence.

“What the fuck is wrong with that girl?” Liv asked, scrubbing her hands over her face. “Jesus Christ, Kat.”

“I think in her own twisted way she was trying to stand up for me,” Kat ventured, chewing her lip in thought. “She never does anything without a reason. And legend has it she’s never backed down from a challenge.”

“Until now.”

“Yeah. Until now.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Your mom’s a fucking bitch.”

“Thanks a lot for acting like a slut, now you’re not allowed back,” Kat said irritatedly, slamming her locker.

“I don’t hear a denial…”

“She can be… tough,” Kat said with a frown, heading for the cafeteria with Beth right on her heels.

“Tough? Is that what you call it? She threatened to beat your ass just to control me. I call it a fucking bitch.”

“You just hit a nerve, that’s all,” Kat said, the frown deepening.

“What kind of nerve makes you threaten your kid like that? Oh I know. One that doesn’t exist.”

“Look,” Kat said, stopping and spinning around, making Beth run into her. “You really wanna know?”

“Yeah, I really wanna know,” Beth said, shuffling backwards a few inches.

“Her dad was a rapist, okay? Her mom kept the baby but… sometimes it just… it’s too real for her you know? She’s been scared her whole life that it runs in her blood and what you said wasn’t right. My mom got issues but I love her. So lay off, got it?” _The easiest lies to tell are ones that intertwine with the truth._

Beth looked stunned for a hot minute before her face closed off again and all she said was, “copy that.” And then she changed the subject. “You gonna show up to practice on time for once?”

Kat breathed a sigh of relief and nudged Beth with her hip before turning around to keep walking. “Maybe.”

***

Coach asked Kat to stay after practice. She didn’t miss the look on Addy’s face, which was somewhere between jealous and curious. She offered what she hoped was a disarming smile in return, and when the rest of the girls had filed out of the gym she turned to Colette. “What’s up?”

“Two things,” Colette said, jumping up to sit on the edge of the stage. “First, I heard what happened with Beth. Are you okay?”

“How in the holy fuck did you hear about it?” Kat asked, eyebrows raised.

“Small town,” Colette explained. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. We worked it out.”

Colette didn’t look convinced but she let it go. “Second thing. Your roundoff needs work.”

Kat’s groan was genuine. “We just ran drills for hours,” she complained. “I’m tired as fuck…”

“Oh, okay. I’ll be sure to tell the team that when we lose State. 'Don’t worry about it girls, Kat was tired as fuck'. Give me five laps. Now.”

Kat gave a frustrated growl and took off jogging. She kept her pace fast enough not to be forced to start over but slow enough to be irritating. When she finished the fifth lap she leaned forward, hands braced on her thighs, head down to control her breathing. “I don’t get you,” she said when she could inhale without wheezing.

“That’s not my concern,” Colette retorted.

“No, come on,” Kat insisted, standing up and shaking her head, walking over to stand in front of Colette, who was still sitting on the edge of the stage. “One minute I think you actually give a shit and the next you’re stonewalling. Which is it?”

“What makes you think it can’t be both? That I’m hard on you because I actually give a shit?”

“You know damn well that I don’t need to run five laps around the gym to improve my life. Or my roundoff. Be real with me for thirty seconds, Coach French.”

“I can separate personal and professional. Personally, I care about all of you. Professionally, I care about myself and by extension, the squad’s reputation as killers. We’re going to take State because I refuse to accept anything less. When it comes to cheerleading I have no personal feelings. Does that clear things up for you, Kat?”

Kat knew how to separate work and home, but a sixteen-year-old girl wouldn’t. “Not really,” she said quietly. “I thought—I just—” She tried her hardest to tear up, managing to get her eyes slightly watery. “I’m not used to being a fucking yo-yo,” she finally snapped. “Hot and cold doesn’t work for me. If you want me to give my all to this squad without complaint, the best way to motivate me is without being a fucking cunt. I get enough inconsistency from my mother, okay? I don’t need it from you too.” She could see Colette frosting over and tried one last attempt to get past the cool exterior. She moved to stand between the coach’s knees and rested her hands on them, lowering her voice. “I’m a good girl, Coach, and I’ll work hard for you. But please don’t be like my mom…” She managed to get a few tears to slide down her face.

Colette took Kat’s hands and squeezed, sliding off of the stage to stand in front of her. “If there’s one thing I’m not good at… it’s playing nice. I’ll try, Kat, but you’ve got to work with me here and not complain about being tired if I tell you something needs improvement.” She pursed her lips for a second and then continued. “Does winning State matter to you? At all?”

Kat swiped her tears away and sniffed. “It matters a lot… but probably not for the reason you think.”

“And what reason do I think?”

“You probably think I want to win for myself, but I don’t. I want to win for Beth, for Addy, for the rest of the squad.” She paused and nervously flicked her eyes away, then back to Colette’s riveted gaze. “For you.” She didn’t miss the microscopic element of surprise in Colette’s next breath. “This is the first time I’ve been part of a real team. Where people count on each other. That means more to me than anything. Making you and the squad happy means more to me than anything. That’s why I want to win.”

The way Colette was looking at her made her stomach clench and her fingers twitch. It would be so easy to lean forward and capture those parted lips with her own…

She didn’t realize she’d actually started to lean forward until a hand on her chest halted her progression. “Don’t do that,” Colette breathed out in a rush.

“Sorry,” Kat whispered, though she wasn’t in the least.

Colette’s hands came up to hold her face and she felt lips press to her forehead. “It’s okay. Just… stay on foreheads or cheeks,” the coach murmured.

Kat’s heart was pounding. Even that chaste kiss was enough to stir up an overwhelming sense of longing. “Sure, Coach,” she agreed, her voice soft and raspy. Fuck, she wanted to grab a handful of that blonde hair and shove Colette up against a—oh, that was not a good train of thought. Her hands clenched and unclenched as she forced them to stay down.

Colette stepped back and the intimacy shattered. “Now… your roundoff.”

“Right. My roundoff. What’s, uh, wrong with it?” Kat tried to focus.

“You’re not turning your hips all the way. That’s why you’re landing harder on one foot.”

“How can you tell that? You’ve got an entire squad to watch and we’re all moving so fast.”

“I can tell because I’m good at my job. You’re not arguing, are you?”

“No, no,” Kat said, putting up her hands in surrender. “Just… impressed, I guess. I’ve never been good at teaching. I mean I can play Call of Duty like a motherfucker but explaining to someone else how to play? Not so much.”

Colette’s eyes twinkled and her lips pulled into a smirk. “Call of Duty, huh?”

“Don’t say you think I play Sims.”

Colette actually laughed and Kat found the sound enchanting. “No. I wouldn’t have guessed you played any video games. Now focus. Kick up into a roundoff and I’ll stop you in the middle.”

Kat nodded and leaned forward, putting her hands flat on the floor and kicking her feet up as if she were going to perform the roundoff. She felt hands on her ankles stopping her, and then hands on her hips, burning through her clothes.

“You’re turning like this.” Colette turned her hips and stopped. “You need to continue to here.” She adjusted Kat’s position and gave her hips a shake for emphasis. “Can you feel the difference?”

“My fuckin’ abs can,” Kat complained at the stretch to her muscles.

Colette slapped her hand lightly across Kat’s stomach with a snort of laughter. “Quit bitching.”

When she was released, Kat brought her legs down, landing on both feet evenly. “Yeah, okay. I feel the difference.”

“Show me what a quick learner you are,” the coach said, stepping back out of the way.

Kat grunted at the underlying facetiousness but performed a flawless roundoff, sticking the landing. Did Colette’s gaze actually have the power to make her dizzy or was that from being upside down longer than usual? “Did I get an A?” she asked cheekily.

Colette pursed her lips, seeming to consider. “Yeah. You got an A. Now get out of here.”

Kat beamed at her, stealing a kiss to the coach’s cheek before she sprinted off to grab her backpack and call Liv for a ride home.

***

_Colette_

_She covered her face with her hands when Kat left, exhaling a shaky breath. Her cheek tingled from the unexpected kiss and she shook her head to clear it. That girl was an enigma and Colette couldn’t help being drawn to her. Sometimes… in the darkness when no one was watching… she let herself imagine that Kat was a few years older. Her fantasies never got past a little heated kissing but even that was enough to twist her stomach with guilt. Because Kat wasn’t a few years older. She was sixteen._

_The way the girl looked at her, though, sometimes she got the feeling that Kat was wise beyond her years. That was no excuse for imagining her old enough to kiss and Colette shook her head again, muttering a disgusted tirade of self-loathing under her breath._

_And what about Addy? Addy looked at her more adoringly than Kat, but she’d never been overwhelmed with the sensation of being stripped bare by Addy’s eyes; stripped down to her soul. Addy’s gaze was never beguiling or deceptive; never penetrating. Addy looked at her like an idol; Kat looked at her like an expensive bottle of scotch or a cut of filet mignon._


	5. Chapter 5

That Friday, Coach was unavailable for another party and Liv was ‘on a business trip’ so Kat decided to host at her apartment. She stocked up on booze and put it all in the cabinet above the fridge to make it look like it was her mom’s stash.

She took keys, just like Colette had, and hid them under her mattress when no one was looking.

The party was in full swing by ten, and by eleven Addy was drunk and Kat ended up next to her on the couch.

“Coach likes you,” the teenager slurred.

“Coach likes winning,” Kat snorted back. “She likes me if I’m performing well.”

“I like her,” Addy continued, almost wistful.

“Mhmm,” Kat nodded noncommittally.

“She’s so beautiful.” That was definitely wistful.

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Kat said carefully. “She’s what my dad would’ve called a ‘looker’.”

“Her hair, you know? Sometimes I just wanna bury my face in it and breathe nothing else.”

Oh boy. Kat hadn’t anticipated a fishing expedition but it was as good a chance as she was going to get. Addy had opened the door herself so there was less room for suspicion at her interest. “I wonder if it’s as soft as it looks. Have you ever touched it?”

“Mhmm,” Addy mumbled. “She was crying. I was petting her head.”

Colette crying? Kat couldn’t picture it. “So is it?”

“Is it what?”

“As soft as it looks?”

“Softer.”

Kat groaned and leaned her head on Addy’s shoulder. “Too bad she’s married.”

“She cheats.”

Kat about choked. “On her husband?”

“Mm.”

“With who?”

“Sarge Will. He died.”

“Is that why she was crying?”

“Mhmm. I think I’m in love with her.”

Well fuck. Apparently whatever combination of booze Addy had consumed was compelling her to spill her secrets, and Colette’s. “Have you made out yet?” She asked it casually so as not to interrupt the flow and tone of the conversation.

Addy sighed. “No. I tried.”

“You mean you kissed her?”

“She wouldn’t let me.”

“Why not? Is she only into guys?” That would be a tragedy for the female population.

“Because I’m too young. She said…” Addy sighed again and leaned her head back to stare at the ceiling. “She said she loves me, but not like that. That she loves all her girls, and that I’m special, but it’s not like that. She said sixteen is too young for anything besides drunken makeouts with girls or boys my own age and that I might feel like I’m in love with her but that’ll go away.” She turned to look at Kat. “Beth is in love with me.”

Kat blinked at the sudden subject shift, her body flooding with relief at Addy’s description of her encounter with Colette. She would try one more time herself and then close the investigation if nothing happened. “You just figured that out?”

“After Coach said no I guess I paid more attention to things around me.”

“How do you feel about Beth?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well take your time. I rushed into things with a girl last year and ended up regretting it. You should at least talk to Beth about it though… maybe she’d start being less of a bitch.” Kat grinned.

Addy looked less melancholy than she had before and even gave a hint of a smirk. “Don’t hold your breath.”

“I won’t.”

***

The opportunity presented itself in the middle of the night. Kat was roused from sleep by a phone call from Colette. “Hello?” she croaked.

“Kat? I’m outside. Can I come up?” Colette sounded like she was crying.

“Of course. I’ll come to the door.”

A few minutes later she opened the door to confirm that Colette was indeed crying. She almost couldn’t believe her eyes and she ushered the coach inside, locking up behind them.

“Come on,” she said quietly, taking Coach’s hand and leading her carefully around sleeping bodies on the floor and into the back. “We can talk in my mom’s room, it’s empty.”

Once that door was closed behind them Colette sat on the edge of the bed, wiping her eyes with the sleeves of her sweater. “I didn’t know where else to go,” she said quietly. “Everyone I know in this town is here. Except my husband, but…” She trailed off and stared down at her lap.

“But you’re crying because of him so that wouldn’t help,” Kat guessed, turning on the bedside lamp and sitting beside her. When Colette finally looked at her she gasped. Now that they were so close she could see a bruise around the coach’s right eye. “Is that…?”

“He hit me,” Colette said, staring back down at her lap.

“That motherfucker,” Kat said, steaming. It may have been inappropriate for Colette to confide something like that in a member of her cheerleading squad instead of an adult or the police, but that didn’t make Kat any less pissed off that it happened. “Did you call the cops? What the _fuck_ , Coach?”

“No, I didn’t—I didn’t know what to do,” Colette whispered, tears still falling faster than she could swipe them away.

“Look at me,” Kat said gently. When Colette lifted her head, Kat leaned closer to inspect the injury. “It’s bleeding. Was he wearing a ring?”

Colette closed her eyes. “A class ring, yeah.”

“Okay, come on,” Kat said, tugging her to her feet and into the master bathroom. “Sit,” she said, pointing to the closed toilet, and when Colette was seated she rummaged through the medicine cabinet for some ointment and gauze. She wet the gauze enough to soften it but not enough to drip, then took Colette’s chin in her left hand to hold her still while she dabbed at the wound as tenderly as she could. The blood was still partly fresh so it wasn’t too difficult to clean off.

“Thanks,” Colette murmured.

“Not quite done,” Kat informed her, squeezing some antibiotic ointment on a dry corner of the gauze and smearing it carefully over the jagged cut. “Now you can thank me,” she said with a charming smile as she dropped the gauze into the trash.

Colette’s lips quirked but didn’t quite make it into a smile. “Thanks,” she said again.

“So what happened?” Kat asked when they were back in the bedroom sitting on the edge of the bed.

“He accused me of cheating on him,” Colette confessed quietly.

Kat chewed her bottom lip, debating whether to ask the question. “Were you?” she finally decided to ask.

Colette’s eyes snapped to hers and for a second she thought the blonde was going to slap her and leave, but she didn’t. She just stared for interminable moments as if trying to figure something out, and then pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them. “Yes.”

Kat gave her points for honesty. It wasn’t easy to fess up to being imperfect, especially to someone you wanted to respect you. “So you admitted it and he hit you?”

“I admitted it, he started crying, I told him to stop being a pussy, and he backhanded me. I stood there for a second trying to figure out what the fuck just happened and then I hit him back.”

Kat’s eyes brightened. “You hit him back?” In her experience, that had not usually been the case. “That’s kind of awesome. I mean… you know what I mean, right?”

Colette finally smiled; Kat could see her cheeks crinkle up even from the side. “It was kind of awesome. He bitched about it but then said he deserved it and we’d better take some space before we knocked each other out. So I just got in the car and drove… The more I thought about it the more upset I got, mostly with myself for being emotionally incompetent. What kind of a person tells her husband to stop being a pussy after she cheated on him?”

“An aggravated person?” Kat guessed. “Is he like… a good husband? In general, I mean.”

“He’s boring,” Colette said suddenly. “I think that’s the problem. He’s boring during the day, he’s boring at night, he’s boring when we go out, he’s boring in bed, he’s boring when he reads to Caitlin. Who doesn’t make exaggerated voices when they read to a baby?”

“I’ve… never read to a baby,” Kat said, blinking at the barrage of complaints tumbling out of the blonde. “And what do you mean he’s boring in bed?”

“Ugh,” Colette said in obvious disgust. “Missionary style, lights off, gentle—” She stopped and cleared her throat. “I should not be telling you that. Don’t distract me,” she said with a smirk.

Kat did her best to look innocent while her insides burst into flames. Colette didn’t like boring in bed. Kat could certainly help her with that. Maybe now was as good a time as any for that last-ditch try to make a case. She prayed Colette would turn her down but she was a good cop and she did her best to be enticing no matter what her personal feelings were. “Missionary style? You’re right. That is boring,” she said, making a face.

“Hey! What do you know about it? You’re too young to be having sex,” Colette scolded good naturedly.

“Oh please,” Kat rolled her eyes. “I’ve probably had more sex than you, Coach. You know one of my favorites?” She continued quickly before Colette could say she didn’t want to hear. “Slammed up against a wall or a door with a hand down my pants. Guy or girl; I’m not picky.”

“Katriona,” Colette chastised her, the good-natured vibe gone. “I don’t need to know that.”

Was it Kat’s imagination or was Colette trembling? “All fours is good too, fucked from behind,” she continued as if the coach hadn’t said anything. She turned fully toward Colette and reached out her hands to grab the coach’s hips, squeezing hard. She was leaning in to kiss the blonde when the space in front of her was suddenly empty.

Colette had hopped off the bed and she looked fit to kill. “I already told you not to do that,” she snapped. “I shouldn’t have to say it twice.”

Kat blinked, staring at her. “You just told me your husband sucks in bed.”

Colette’s eyes widened. “That doesn’t mean I was asking you to take over for him! You’re sixteen years old, Kat!” She started pacing and Kat kept quiet, letting her calm down. Finally she stopped and sighed, running a hand through her hair. “Look… you are beautiful,” she said softly. “Absolutely breathtaking, and if you were a few years older we wouldn’t be having this conversation, but you’re not. I’m an adult and you’re a minor and it’s just not going to happen, Kat. I’m sorry.”

Kat could sense genuine regret and sense that it was a genuine refusal based on her perceived age, and her body flooded with relief even though she didn’t let that show on her face. “Okay,” she said, looking away. “I’m sorry, Coach.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, you just can’t do that again,” Colette said. “If you do it again I won’t feel comfortable being your coach.”

“I get it,” Kat said. “I’m good. You can have this room and I’ll go back to mine, unless you’re leaving…”

“I’m tired… does the door lock?” she asked, turning her head to look.

“I think so,” Kat said, making herself seem more subdued than she felt. If Colette didn’t hate her when she came clean tomorrow, she was going to singlehandedly fix this woman’s boring sex problem. She got up and went to the door, pulling it open. “Yeah, it locks. Good night, Coach. I’m sorry about your husband. And, well, about everything that ever happened tonight, I guess. Help yourself to anything in the kitchen.” And she slipped out the door, retreating to her room.


	6. Chapter 6

After everyone left, including Colette, Kat got out her phone and called Liv.

“Hi honey,” Liv answered. “Everything okay?”

“Hey Liv, I’m alone. I’m calling it. You can close up the investigation or tell your friend to close it up. I got out of a drunk Hanlon last night that nothing’s ever happened. She said she tried to kiss the coach but Colette wouldn’t let her. Told her she loves all the girls but not like that. And she shut me down twice… vaguely the first time but last night she was very clear and explicitly stated it wasn’t going to happen because I’m a minor. So we’re good to go.”

“Okay, good work,” Liv said. “Hop on a plane whenever you’re done screwing her brains out.”

“Liv!” Kat burst out laughing.

“Am I wrong?”

She could _hear_ the expression on Olivia’s face. “You’re not wrong. If she’ll even speak to me, anyway. I’m gonna get some lunch and then try to explain why she shouldn’t slap me. Do they make Kevlar for faces?”

Liv snorted into the phone. “Good luck.”

***

Kat took her time cooking and eating lunch, then showered and brushed her teeth, getting into low-slung jeans and a sheer long-sleeved blouse that showcased a black lacy bra beneath it. She pulled her hair back and put on tasteful makeup (as opposed to the globs she’d been wearing the past two weeks). When that was all said and done she texted Colette.

_Can you come back over, Coach? I need to tell you something. It’s important._

About five minutes later her phone buzzed.

_I’m on my way. Are you ok?_

Kat wanted to say ‘ask me again in a half hour’.

_I’m good. See you soon. Just come up. The door’s unlocked._

Fifteen minutes later the door opened and Kat held her breath when Colette stepped inside. Jesus, she looked edible. Not too many people could get away with that shade of red on their lips. “Hey… come sit,” she said, patting the sofa next to her.

“You sure you’re okay?” Colette asked, sitting in the indicated spot after closing the door.

“There’s something I have to tell you, and you’re not gonna like it,” Kat started, pressing her lips tightly together.

Colette’s eyes sprung wide in alarm. “You are _not_ quitting, Kat.”

“That’s not it,” Kat said awkwardly. There was really no good way to break the news so she just spit it out. “I’m not a high school student. I’m a cop.”

Colette just stared at her, unmoving, unwavering, her expression blank and unchanging. “Bullshit,” she finally said.

Kat pulled her badge out of her pocket and handed it to the blonde. “Manhattan Special Victims Unit.”

Colette set her purse on the floor, took the badge and ran her thumb over the tin. “New York? What the hell are you doing on my squad, then?” She handed back the badge.

“One of the parents called my captain. I guess they’re old friends.”

“Called your captain about what?”

“There was some concern that your relationship with the girls on your squad was inappropriate.”

“Oh my God,” Colette said, hand going to cover her mouth. “Addy’s mom?”

“I didn’t receive that information, but that would be my guess based on what I’ve seen.”

Colette stood and started pacing in front of the sofa. “I adore Addy, but I _never_ touched her like that, _ever_ ,” she swore, hands going into her hair and squeezing as she paced.

“I know,” Kat said simply. “The investigation’s closed.”

“Why didn’t Faith just ask me?”

“Because you could have lied. Parents and police are two entities that don’t take that sort of chance.”

Suddenly Colette stopped pacing and whirled on her. “You tried to kiss me. Twice. You were setting me up?”

“That is the nature of undercover work,” Kat admitted. “But in all honesty… if I’d met you in a bar somewhere I would have been all over you from the first minute. That probably doesn’t help, but you deserve the truth. I’m into you, I just… had to do my job. That always comes first.”

“I’m guessing that wasn’t really your mom that I met?” Colette asked, slowly sinking down to sit at the other end of the sofa.

“That was my captain.”

“Your captain flew out here just to—what the hell was that smack on the ass, then? Is that a normal workplace thing in New York?”

Kat wondered when Colette was going to blow up at her, but for now she just kept answering the coach’s questions. “I did not know that smack was coming and my blush was real. She does not do that in New York, no.”

“So everything you told me about your mom… that was what, a ploy for sympathy?”

“The first rule of undercover work is to base your lies in truth. Everything I told you wasn’t a hundred percent true but it all came from somewhere familiar.”

“Is Kat your real name?”

“Yes. Katriona Azar Tamin.”

Colette leaned forward, eyes narrowed. “How old are you?”

Kat’s pulse jumped. “Twenty-seven.”

“You’re two years older than me for fuck’s sake… and you had me thinking I was crazy for feeling like you seemed older than sixteen.”

Kat chewed her bottom lip. “I would say I’m sorry but I already told you my job comes before anything else.”

“So you lied to me, lied to the rest of the squad, tried to set me up for statutory rape, and you’re not sorry?”

Kat shifted in her seat. “That’s right,” she said, but it sounded like her position was weakening even to her own ears.

Colette leaned even closer. “I could see that being acceptable if I was guilty,” she whispered. “If I was the predator you thought I might be. But I’m not. You owe me an apology. Not for investigating me, but for lying. For the fact that every single fucking thing that came out of your mouth was a manipulation.”

Shit. When had she gotten close enough to corner Kat against the arm of the sofa? Talk about a predator… she looked like a lioness poised for the kill. Kat’s eyes were drawn to her blood-red lips. “I… what?” she stammered, feeling sweat prick the back of her neck.

“Not so sure about your righteousness anymore, are you?” Colette practically purred, her face now inches from Kat’s. “You owe me an apology. Now.”

Kat exhaled slowly; carefully, trying not to breathe directly onto Colette’s skin. Maybe she could apologize, just for the lying. That didn’t mean she was sorry for doing her job. “I’m—” she said and stopped, trying to scoot backwards but she was pinned by the unyielding sofa arm. Her cunt was throbbing, her panties soaked, and all she could do was give in. “I’m sorry, Coach,” she breathed.

“We are not role playing,” Colette said right in her face. “I’m going to fuck you like the adult you are, so try that again.”

Kat almost groaned, biting the inside of her cheek to keep quiet. “I’m sorry,” she said again, leaving off the title. “Colette.”

“Do you know what I’m going to do before I fuck you, Kat?” Colette whispered in her ear.

The proximity of their bodies and the heat of the situation combined to make Kat far less eloquent than usual. “Uh-uh,” she murmured. She had pictured herself as the aggressor and maybe there was still time to salvage that image but for the moment she was mesmerized and all she could do was comply.

“I’m going to make you regret lying to me.”

Kat shifted, her eyelids fluttering. “How are you planning to do that?”

Colette’s lips finally brushed the shell of her ear and Kat shivered, pressing her mouth into a tight line.

“I’m going to make that spanking you got from your mommy feel like a love tap.”

“Jesus Christ,” Kat muttered, head rearing back to get away from the sensual whisper. And suddenly, police training be damned, she found herself across Colette’s lap.

“Get your pants down.”

“Hey! You should be the one in this position,” Kat finally complained.

“For what?” Colette asked, barking out a surprised laugh.

Kat managed to get herself turned on her back so she could look Colette in the face. “You may not have touched any of the girls in an overtly sexual manner but your relationship with them, especially Addy, is completely inappropriate. There’s a word for it; it’s called grooming.”

“Are you really talking shop right now?” Colette’s mouth hung slightly open.

“It’s true. If I let you spank me for lying, you have to give me your word you’ll go willingly afterward.”

“What?” Colette’s eyebrows hit the roof. “Are you fucking kidding me? Nobody spanks me,” she said with a condescending scoff.

“Because you’re used to being in charge of a bunch of little girls,” Kat volleyed.

“And you think I met my match, huh?” There was no mistaking the genuine undercurrent of a sneer hiding behind Colette’s sarcasm.

“Yeah, I think you did,” Kat replied. “You want to hold me accountable? Fine. I’ll take it. But your ass is on the line next. You give me a chance to make you understand why your behavior is unacceptable, and if you still feel like the alpha bitch when I’m done, I’ll stand down.”

Colette’s eyes blazed as they stared at each other and Kat could see the struggle playing out behind them – comfort and familiarity versus curiosity and unease. Likely no one had ever challenged her in quite the same way. Finally the blonde exhaled and put just a touch too much confidence in her response. “Fine. Now turn over, and get your pants down like I told you to.”

“A’ight Mommy,” Kat smirked, undoing her pants and then flipping over before unzipping them and pushing them down to her knees. “Make me sorry.”

“Don’t fucking say that,” Colette said, disgust clear in her voice, and she smacked Kat sharply across the middle of her ass.

“Surprised you’re willing to risk that perfect manicure,” Kat continued to taunt her. “Did you start yet?”

Colette responded by bringing her hand down rapidly again and again on the same cheek, not stopping until Kat yelped and threw one of her arms in the way. “Any other smart comments?”

Kat took a second to breathe and a few more seconds to calm down, then moved her arm out of the way. “Just that you really sound like my mom now…”

Colette repeated the barrage of slaps on the other cheek and Kat finally gave in with another yelp, blocking Colette’s hand again with her other arm.

“Ay, ay, okay, no more smart comments,” she promised. Fuck, that stung.

“Well that’s a relief. Now we can start on the lying.” Colette wrapped her left arm around Kat’s waist and started a steady, even spanking with her right that Kat found much more fair.

“I had to lie to you,” she tried to insist.

“Just doing your job, right? If anyone gets damaged in the process, so be it?”

Kat squirmed under the assault, her backside already on fire from the initial rapid blows, and each one Colette laid on top of that made it harder and harder to hold still. “That wasn’t my intention. I’m sorry if my dishonesty caused any lasting harm to anyone.”

“I’m fine, but what about Beth and Addy? What happens when they find out who you really are?”

“Maybe they don’t,” Kat said after thinking on that for a moment. She squeaked at a particularly forceful swat and then added, “and I don’t think you’re fine.”

“I’m fine,” Colette insisted, and Kat could feel her displeasure in the next few slaps.

Now was probably not the time to discuss it. “Regardless, Colette, I’m sorry,” she said sincerely. She certainly hadn’t set out to hurt anyone.

Colette finally wound down the punishment and released her hold on Kat’s waist. “I’m fine,” she said again. “I just worry about the girls. They have enough deception to deal with from each other.”

Kat knew Colette was hurt but didn’t want to admit it, and she wouldn’t burst that particular bubble right at the moment. She pushed onto her hands and knees, groaning as she stretched her sore muscles, then turned over to sit in Colette’s lap. “We don’t have to tell them if you don’t want to,” she offered, bringing one hand up to stroke the side of Colette’s neck.

“Oh my God,” Colette said all of a sudden. “State. You have to stay until after State. You can’t abandon us until we win. There’s no way I could find someone else and train her in time.”

Kat exhaled slowly through her nose. She hadn’t thought about that. She supposed she did owe it to the squad, and to the coach. “Well… my captain did tell me I could have my pick of assignments for the next month. State is in two weeks, right? I guess I could ask to stay.”

Colette grabbed her around the back of the neck and kissed her.

Kat returned the kiss for about five seconds and then disengaged. “Hang on… none of that until after I’m done with your ass.”

“You don’t actually expect me to go through with that, do you?”

Kat raised an eyebrow. “Unless you want me to question your integrity and show you the door…”

“Are you fucking serious right now?”

Realization dawned and Kat tried to keep her jaw from dropping. “You’re nervous.”

“Fuck you. I don’t get nervous.”

“You are, you’re nervous.”

“You can take your uninvited analysis and go fuck yourself,” Colette snapped.

Kat climbed backwards off her lap and stood up. “Are you leaving or are you keeping your word?”

“Oh, I’m keeping my word,” Colette said, her voice frosted over. “I do not. Get. Nervous.”

Kat reached down and threaded her index fingers through empty belt loops, jerking Colette to her feet. “Undo your pants.”

Colette stared her down and Kat could see the coach’s hands move in her peripheral vision. Then she heard a zipper being lowered.

“Now take them off.”

Colette’s eyes hardened but she complied, kicking off her boots before pushing her jeans down and stepping out of them, nudging them aside.

Okay so Kat had a moment where she wanted to skip right to fucking because Colette French standing in a white beater and black satin panties and those same damn type of white socks with the folded cuffs just did things to her that could never be undone. But she was patient; she possessed impeccable self-control, so she reined in her libido and took Colette firmly by the elbow, sitting on the sofa and guiding the blonde across her lap. “What kind of responsibilities did you have as a child?”

“What?” Colette turned to look at her over one shoulder.

“Keep your head down and answer the question,” Kat demanded, her voice somewhere between casually conversive and interrogative.

“I don’t know, normal shit I guess. Keep my room clean, uh, help set the table? How old are you talking?”

“Let’s say sixteen. What responsibilities did you have when you were sixteen?”

“I don’t understand what that has to do with anything.”

“You will.”

Colette made a disgusted sound but kept her head down. “Fine. Keep my grades up, go to classes, stay out of trouble. Do my homework. Be home by curfew. Help out around the house.”

“What was the most difficult thing you had to deal with at that age?”

“Probably thinking I was in love only to realize he was sleeping with all my friends.”

“How about your mother? What was she dealing with when you were sixteen?”

“I don’t know. She never told me shit like that.”

“Because she wanted you to be a teenager and worry about teenage stuff? Or because her life was perfect?”

“Nobody’s life is perfect; that’s a ridiculous assumption.”

“Were you a cheerleader?”

“Yes. I was damn good.”

“You’re still damn good. What was your coach like?”

“She was a hardass. Expected us to give our everything.”

“And she’d buy you booze on the weekends, right?”

Colette snorted derisively. “Fuck no. If we showed up anywhere drunk we were off the squad.”

“How about your mom? Did she buy you booze?”

“Get to the point.”

“How many adults in your life bought you booze and hosted parties for you and your squad?”

“None.”

“They didn’t think it was appropriate?”

“You’d have to ask them what they thought.”

“We’ll assume, then, that because they didn’t do it, they didn’t think it was appropriate. But you do? You think it’s okay to let sixteen-year-olds get drunk and smoke and stay out all night at parties?”

“If they didn’t get it from me they’d get it somewhere else. At least if I’m there I can make sure they’re safe.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” Kat landed the first smack, sharp and crisp to Colette’s left cheek.

Colette jumped and a little gasp reached Kat’s ears, but she didn’t answer the question.

“How many times did your coach get into bed with you?”

Colette didn’t answer for a minute, and then, “shit.”

“I’ll take that as a ‘none’,” Kat said, spanking her other cheek and getting the same reaction – a jump and a little gasp. “A grown woman getting into bed with a teenager, snuggling up, whether sexual in nature or not, is inappropriate.”

“I never really thought about it. It just seemed natural.”

“But you’re supposed to be their role model, not their friend,” Kat tried to explain. “Not their drinking buddy. Not someone who encourages them to break the law. Sure, they’re gonna drink sometimes, but it’s illegal, Colette. It’s contributing to the delinquency of a minor. It’s reckless endangerment. If you hadn’t taken everyone’s keys I would be arresting you right now, do you understand? If you want to have a party for them, have a game night. At your house, not some seedy motel where any garden-variety predator could be lurking around. You put them at risk. Do you know how many rapes happen in situations like that? You can’t have your eye on every one of them every minute. How would you feel if one of them had been assaulted?”

Colette snapped around to look at Kat again, but this time it wasn’t outrage in her eyes, it was fear. Realization. Regret. Like a thousand possibilities were now running through her head. “I didn’t—Kat, I didn’t—”

“Didn’t think about it? No, you didn’t,” Kat reprimanded her, landing a few more stinging swats just below the seam of her panties, alternating sides.

Colette jumped at the first one and then put her head back down, squeezing her thighs together.

“Do you see a problem with it now?” Kat asked, continuing to spank her.

“Yes,” Colette admitted, her breath rushing out.

“You’re not one of the girls, you’re the coach,” Kat said, taking a pause with her hand. “So be the coach. Be an adult. Lead by example. And when you have a personal problem, do not confide in a teenager, Colette. I shouldn’t have to tell you how inappropriate that is.”

“I have no one else to confide in,” Colette said quietly, the attitude from earlier gone.

“Then get a therapist. Do not place the burden of adult problems onto Addy Hanlon’s shoulders. How miserable would your life have been if your coach or your mother had put their financial problems or their relationship problems on you when you were sixteen? Could you have dealt with that in addition to all of the normal things teenage girls deal with?”

Colette was quiet for a minute and when she spoke her voice was regretful. “Fuck.”

“It’s a lot to take in, so I’m just gonna punish you now and let you think about it,” Kat announced, wrapping her arm around Colette’s waist and spanking her backside with a little more strength than before.

Colette squirmed but didn’t try to get away. “I never thought I was being inappropriate.”

“But you were.” Kat spanked her harder to get that point across. Colette’s fair skin was starting to tinge pink where her panties didn’t protect her.

“I never thought I was,” Colette repeated stubbornly, bordering on a whine.

Kat pressed her lips tightly together and hooked her fingers in the waistband of the black satin panties and tugged them down. “Colette,” she said, the single word a clear admonishment before she brought her hand down hard… onto an incredibly perfect ass. Jesus. _Later_ , she reminded herself, doubling down on her focus.

Colette yelped when Kat pulled her panties down and shivered at the scolding, then fell silent.

“I don’t want to hear another word until you’re ready to admit you’ve been inappropriate whether you meant to be or not.” She spanked Colette firmly, alternating cheeks, building up a rhythm and watching the blonde’s skin go from pink to red.

Colette started squirming constantly, her head buried in the couch cushion, and when Kat increased the pressure she bent her knees and crossed her ankles, starting to cry.

Kat had no intention of going back on her word. Crying was good, but not what she was waiting for. She strayed the blows down to Colette’s unmarked thighs, ignoring how fucking precious she looked with her ankles crossed like that and how hot she looked with a bright red ass.

A few more powerful blows to her thighs and Colette reached her breaking point, shouting her acquiescence as she threw her head back. “My behavior was inappropriate!”

“Good girl,” Kat praised her, easing off immediately until she was rubbing gently instead of smacking. Colette’s skin was blazing hot and it made her stomach twist and her thighs press together. “Come here.” She held out her arms and Colette carefully sat up with an anguished cry. Her arms went around the blonde and pulled her close, urging Colette’s head onto her shoulder.

Colette curled into her and broke down a little more, shaking with tears. “My marriage is a joke, I have no family left, all I have is the girls.”

“Hey,” Kat said, stroking silky blonde hair and marveling at its softness. Addy was right about that. “Hey now. You have me.”

Colette gave a sob at that and pressed herself tighter against Kat’s body. “You’re going back to New York after State.”

“It’s only an hour-and-fifteen-minute flight,” Kat tried to soothe her. “I can visit. You can visit me. You can call me any time you need to talk. But if I get wind of you unloading on Addy Hanlon again or any of the other girls, my visit here won’t be pleasant for you. If you think your ass hurts now, imagine if I’d been using a hairbrush.”

Colette sniffed and wiped her eyes, then put her arms around Kat’s neck. “Why would you spank someone with a hairbrush?” she asked after a minute.

Kat’s eyes flicked to the purse on the floor. “Do you have one in your purse?”

“I’m a cheer coach. Of course I have one in my purse.”

“Grab it for me.”

Colette leaned over and unzipped her purse with one hand, feeling around inside it until she came up with the brush.

“Lay over my lap again,” Kat said as she took the hairbrush, then waited for Colette to comply before resting it on her bottom. “Brace yourself,” she warned, then started spanking. She got in five smacks before Colette shrieked and begged her to stop.

“Stop! Stop! Oh my God!”

Kat stopped when asked, setting the brush on the coffee table and rubbing Colette’s backside with a snicker. “My mama—my real mama—had occasion to use her hairbrush on my butt a few times. Whatever it was I got thrashed for with that thing, I never repeated the offense. Now imagine that… maybe fifty times,” she said, knowing her words had sunk in when Colette shuddered. “I just gave you five. If you want to avoid fifty, make some adult friends, get a therapist, or call me when you need to talk about anything.”

“I got it,” Colette promised, her voice winded. “I got it.” 

“Because I don’t want to end up arresting you down the line if the laws change on grooming. Like I said, I’m into you.”

Colette lay there getting her breathing under control for a few moments before she responded. “I’m into you too.”

Kat purred at that, slowing down her rubbing from comforting to sensual. “Now… do you still want to try to control me or have I earned enough respect for you to bow down?”

Colette groaned, pressing her forehead into the sofa cushion. “No one has ever been able to rein me in.”

“I’m off to a pretty good start, aren’t I?”

A brief hesitation and then a nod. “Yeah.”

Kat suddenly wound her hand in Colette’s hair and tugged until the blonde was on her knees on the couch. She quieted the surprised gasp with a kiss, then released the coach’s hair and used both hands to fit the black satin panties back up over her hips. “On your hands and knees,” she directed, nodding toward the floor. “Crawl over and lock the door, since you forgot to do it when you came in.”

Colette gave her an incredulous look and Kat got the impression she was being sized up; that Colette was trying to figure out whether she was serious or not.

Kat waited, her gaze unwavering, and her patience was rewarded when Colette let out a shuddering sigh and climbed to the floor, looking back once with uncertainty before she slowly crawled across the room to the front door. Kat could see her hand shaking as she reached up to lock it. The red of her nail polish stood out against her fair skin and Kat found herself thoroughly enjoying the contrast.

“Now crawl back over here and kneel in front of me.”

She could sense Colette’s hesitance though she couldn’t quite tell if it was at the instruction specifically or the idea of obeying itself that gave the blonde pause. Again she waited, keeping any hint of impatience at bay, and again that patience was rewarded.

Colette stayed on all fours as she turned around, her head dropped between her shoulders, the tips of her hair almost dragging on the carpet, and she crawled back to Kat. Kat could see and hear the breath she took, her shoulders hunching on the inhale and relaxing on the exhale.

As she waited, Kat shifted her knees apart so Colette could fit between them, but she was otherwise still and silent. It took another two or three minutes for the blonde to pull in another deep breath, move forward between Kat’s legs and straighten up to her knees.

Colette’s head was still down. Kat ran her fingers through those luscious blonde locks and put her lips to the younger woman’s ear. “I know you struggled with that, honey,” she whispered. “But it was a flawless performance.”

Colette’s head lifted, confusion in her eyes. “It was?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“It was,” Kat confirmed, stroking a thumb across a blushing cheek. “I’m soaked.”

Colette choked out a gasp that ended as a whimper, her eyelids fluttering shut as she sucked in air through her nose.

“If you let me, Colette French, I will take you so high…”

“Full disclosure,” Colette confessed softly. “I’ve never submitted to anyone. I won’t be perfect.”

“There’s no such thing,” Kat replied, stroking her cheek again. “And if there were such a thing as perfection, that would be no more interesting than missionary style sex with the lights off.”


End file.
